Casing of laundry handling device

ABSTRACT

A casing  50  of a laundry handling device according to the present invention has a cabinet  100  having a front surface  101  formed with an entrance hole  102  of laundry, and a left and right surfaces  102, 103  formed integrally with one another. And, a back cover  110  is mounted on a rear end of the left and right surfaces  102, 103  of the cabinet  100  to cover the rear surface of the cabinet  100.  The cabinet  100  and back cover  110  are mounted to a base  130,  and a top plate  120  is mounted to the cabinet  100  and back cover  110.  There exists no gap between the left and right surfaces  106, 107  and front surface  101  of the casing  50,  this making it possible to eliminate beauty spoiling and deterioration of stability and cleanliness which can occur if there exists any gap, and the number of parts is increased, this making it possible to minimize the number of connecting members and simplify assembling process.

This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 10-2005-0058123 filed in Korea on Jun. 30, 2005, and Patent Application No. 10-2005-0058124 filed in Korea on Jun. 30, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a casing of a laundry handling device, and more particularly, to a casing of a laundry handling device, which does not require a separate cabinet cover since the front surface, and left and right surfaces of the laundry handling device are integrally formed, and has the minimized number of parts.

2. Description of the Conventional Art

In general, a laundry handling device is a device to wash or dehydrate laundry contained in a drum by rotating the drum, and this may be classified depending on its function as follows: a washing machine of decontaminating dirt on clothes or bedding (hereinafter, referred to as ‘laundry’) by mechanical interaction together with water and detergent, a dryer of drying wet laundry from mechanical interaction and heated dry wind, and a washing machine with dryer having both of washing function and drying function.

On the other hand, the laundry handling device is classified into a front loading type, which loads laundry in the front side, and a top loading type, which loads laundry in the top side, depending on the direction of placing laundry.

And, the washing machine is largely divided into an agitator type, a pulsator type, and drum type.

The agitator type washing machine washes laundry by rotating a washing rod elevated from its center, the pulsator type by rotating a rotation wing formed at the lower side of washing tank in a circular plate form and using friction between water flow and laundry, and the drum type by rotating a drum containing washing water, detergent and laundry, which is arranged in a tub having a lifter protruded therein to be rotatable.

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of illustrating a drum type washing machine according to a prior art, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of illustrating an internal construction of a drum type washing machine according to a prior art, and FIG. 3 is a exploded prospective view of illustrating a casing in a drum type washing machine according to a prior art.

The drum type washing machine according to the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a casing 2 forming its appearance, a tub 20 installed inside the casing 2, a drum 25 rotatably provided inside the tub 20, a motor 30 of rotating the drum 25, a water supplier 35 of supplying water mixed with detergent and the like to the inside of the tub 20, and a drainer 40 of draining contaminated water in the tub 20 to the outside of the casing.

The casing 2, as shown in FIG. 3, comprises a base 4 having a leg 3 on its bottom surface, a cabinet 9 arranged on a top side of the base 4, whose left surface 5 and right surface 6 are bended toward at both ends of its rear surface 7 and whose rear surface 7 has a service hole 8 in its center, a back cover 10 installed in the rear surface 7 of the cabinet 9 to cover the service hole 8, a cabinet cover 11 installed to be arranged between line ends of the left surface 5 and right surface 6, and a top cover 12 installed on a top side of the cabinet 9.

A damper bracket is formed in the base 4 connected to a damper for shock-absorbably supporting the tub 20.

The cabinet cover 11 is formed in a rectangular plate body form of covering the front surface of the cabinet 9.

A control panel 13 is mounted on a top side of the cabinet cover 11 to control operation of the drum type washing machine.

The casing 2 of the drum type washing machine according to the prior art, however, has a gap 18 between the left and right surfaces 5, 6 of the cabinet 8 and left and right ends of the cabinet cover 11; therefore, water may be penetrated through the gap 18, lowering stability, unwanted material such as dust may enter the gap 18, making unclean, and an overall sense of integrity can not be obtained from the casing 2 due to the gap 18, spoiling the beauty.

Moreover, since the casing 2 of the drum type washing machine according to the prior art comprises the cabinet 9 consisting of the left and right side surfaces 5, 6, and the rear surface 7, the service hole 8 formed on the cabinet 9, and the back cover 10 of covering the service hole 8, the number of parts and assembling processes is increased, and the number of connecting member is also increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is designed to solve the problems of prior art, and therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a casing of a laundry handling device capable of improving stability and cleanliness as well as beauty of a front surface of the laundry handling device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a casing of a laundry handling device capable of simplifying assembling process through minimizing the number of parts, and minimizing the number of connecting members.

To accomplish the above objects, a casing of a laundry handling device according to the present invention comprises a cabinet 100 having a front surface 101 and a left and right surfaces 102, 103 formed integrally with one another, the front surface 101 formed with an entrance hole 102 of laundry; and a back cover 110 mounted on a rear end of the left and right surfaces 102, 103 of the cabinet 100.

The cabinet has a door pivotally installed on the front surface to open and close the entrance hole of laundry.

The cabinet is formed so that a height of the front surface is lower than a height of the left and right surfaces to mount a control panel of controlling operation of the laundry handling device on a top side of the front surface.

The cabinet has a holder mounting hole of mounting a pump holder on a lower side of the front surface.

The back cover is formed with at least one hole through which parts of the laundry handling device are penetrated including a water supply valve hole through which a water supply valve is penetrated, a power code hole through which a power code is penetrated, a draining hose hole through which a draining hose is penetrated, and a tranzi bolt hole through which a tranzi bolt is penetrated.

The back cover is mounted in a front and rear direction at a rear side of the cabinet.

The casing of the laundry handling device further comprises a base on which the cabinet and back cover are mounted.

The base comprises a base pan, a left base bracket installed on a left and top surface of the base pan and connected to a left damper supporting a left side of the tub, and a right base bracket installed on a right and top surface of the base pan and connected to a right damper supporting a right side of the tub.

The casing of the laundry handling device further comprises a top plate mounted on a top side of the cabinet and back cover.

The laundry handling device is a drum type washing machine.

As mentioned above, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention configured as above, the front surface, left and right surfaces are integrally formed on the cabinet, and therefore, there exists no gap between the left and right surfaces and front surface, this making it possible to eliminate beauty spoiling and deterioration of stability and cleanliness which can occur if there exists any gap.

In addition, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention, the cabinet and back cover mounted at the rear end of the cabinet replace the cabinet, cabinet cover, and back cover of the casing of the drum type washing machine according to the prior art, and therefore the number of parts is decreased, this making it possible to minimize the number of connecting members and simplifying assembling process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like numerals refer to like elements.

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of illustrating a drum type washing machine according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of illustrating an internal construction of a drum type washing machine according to the prior art.

FIG. 3 is an exploded prospective view of illustrating a casing of a drum type washing machine according to the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a prospective view of a drum type washing machine to which an embodiment of a casing of a laundry handling device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of illustrating the internal construction of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an exploded prospective view of the casing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the cabinet shown in FIG. 6 before the left and right surfaces are bent from the front surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Now, a preferred embodiment of a casing of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention will be hereinafter described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 is a prospective view of a drum type washing machine to which an embodiment of a casing of a laundry handling device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of illustrating the internal construction of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG. 4.

The drum type washing machine shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises a casing 50 forming its appearance, a tub 20 installed inside the casing 2 shock-absorbly by a suspension such as spring, damper and the like, a drum 25 rotatably provided inside the tub 20, a motor 30 of rotating the drum 25, a water supplier 35 of supplying water mixed with detergent and the like to the inside of the tub 20, and a drainer 42 of draining contaminated water in the tub 20 to the outside of the casing 50.

The casing 50 comprises a cabinet 100 integrally formed with a front surface 101 and a left and right surfaces 106, 107 of the drum type washing machine, a back cover 110 of covering the overall rear surface of the cabinet 100, a top plate 120 arranged on a top side of the cabinet 100 and back cover 110 to cover a top surface of the cabinet 100, and a base 130 mounted with the cabinet 100 and back cover 110.

The back cover 110 is mounted on each rear end of the left and right surfaces 106, 107 of the cabinet 100 by screws and the like.

Here, the top plate 120 in the casing 50 may be integrally formed with either of the cabinet 100 or back cover 110, and it may also be manufactured separately and combined with each other by screw and the like. The following description will be confined in a case where the top plate 120 is manufactured separately from the cabinet 100 and back cover 100 and then placed and mounted on the cabinet 100 and back cover 110.

The top plate 120 is placed over the cabinet 100 and back cover 110, and mounted with them by screw and the like.

And, the casing 50 may be configured only with the cabinet 100, back cover 110, and top plate 120 without the base 130. The following description, however, will be confined in a case where the base 130 is manufactured separately from the cabinet 100 and back cover 110, and the cabinet 100 and back cover 110 are connected by screw and the like so that the damper, which will be described later, may be readily connected.

The tub 20, which is a container positioned horizontally or inclinedly, includes a water supply hole connected to the water supplier 35 at its upper side and an overflow connected to the drainer 42 at its lower side.

The drum 25, which is a container positioned horizontally or inclinedly, is formed with perforations on its surrounding thorough which water may pass and is mounted with a lifter in its inner periphery which serves to lift and drop laundry.

The motor 30 is mounted at the rear surface of the tub 20, and arranged so that the rotation axis of rotating the drum 25 is horizontal or inclined.

The water supplier 35 comprises a water supply valve 36 through which water fed from an external source passes, a water supply hose 37 of guiding water having passed through the water supply valve 36, a dispenser 39 including a detergent container 38 to be capable of mixing detergent, softener, bleach, and the like with water guided by the water supply hose 37, and a water supply bellows 40 of guiding water having passed through the dispenser 39 and mixed with detergent and the like, or pure water mixed with no detergent.

The water supply valve 36 is installed to partially penetrate the back cover 110

The water drainer 42 comprises a draining bellows 43 of guiding contaminated water in the tub 20, a pump 44 of pumping water having passed through the draining bellows 43, and a draining hose 45 of guiding water pumped in the pump 55 to the outside of the casing 50.

The draining hose 45 penetrates the back cover 110 and extends in the rear side of the back cover 110.

The pump 44 comprises a pump case 45 detachably provided with a filter, a pump motor 46 installed in the pump case 45 and pumping water in the pump case 45, and a pump holder 47 of mounting the pump case 45.

The pump holder 47 is installed on the front surface 101 of the casing 50, especially, the cabinet 100.

A pump cap 48 is installed on the pump holder 47 to open/close the front surface of the pump holder 47.

FIG. 6 is an exploded prospective view of the casing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The cabinet 100 is generally configured so that its section is in the shape of

and its left surface 106 is bent to face the right surface 107.

The casing 50 has an entrance hole of laundry; the entrance hole is formed at the front surface of the casing 50, in case of a front loading type, and at the top surface, in case of a top loading type. The following description will be confined in a case of the front loading type laundry handling device.

The entrance hole 102 of laundry 102 is formed on the front surface 101 of the cabinet 100, and a door 103 for opening/closing the entrance hole 102 of laundry is pivotably connected thereto.

The cabinet 100 is mounted with a control panel 140 of controlling the operation of the drum type washing machine, and the control panel mounting part 104 is formed on the top side of the front surface 101.

The control panel mounting part 104 comprises a front and top bending part 104A bent in the top end of the front surface 101, on which the control panel 140 is placed, a left bending part 104B bent from the top side of the line end of the left surface 106 toward the top side of the line end of the right surface 106, on which the left side of the control panel 140 is mounted by a connecting member such as hook or screw, and a right bending part 104C bent from the top side of the line end of the right surface 107 toward the top side of the line end of the left surface 107, on which the right side of the control panel 140 is mounted by a connecting member such as hook or screw.

A height H1 of the front surface 101 in the cabinet 100 is formed lower than a height H2 of the left and right surfaces 106, 107 by a height H3 of the control panel 140, so that the control panel 140, when mounted on the control panel mounting part 104, does not form a step with the left and right surfaces 106, 107.

Here, the cabinet 100, considering a front and rear width W of the control panel 140, is formed so that the overall left and right surfaces 106, 107 are not higher than the front surface 101 in height, the front parts 106A, 107A of the left and right surfaces 106, 107 are equal to the front surface 101 by H1 in height, and the parts other than the front parts 106A, 107A are higher than the front surface 101 by the height H3 of the control panel 140.

That is, the left and right surfaces 106, 107 in the cabinet 100 are formed in the left and right direction and partially in a stepwise manner.

On the other hand, a holder mounting hole 105 of mounting the pump holder 47 is formed in the lower side of the front surface 101.

In the cabinet 100, a left top bracket 100A is mounted on the top end of the left surface 106 to complement assembling stiffness with the top plate 120 and suspend the tub 20 by spring, and a left and top end bending part 106B bent from the top end of the left surface 106 toward the top end of the right surface is formed so that the left top bracket 100A may be connected by screw and the like.

In the cabinet 100, a right top bracket 100B is mounted on the top end of the right surface 107 to complement assembling stiffness with the top plate 120 and suspend the tub 20 by spring, and a right and top end bending part 107B bent from the top end of the right surface 107 toward the top end of the left surface is formed so that the right top bracket 100B may be connected by screw and the like.

The cabinet 100 has a panel frame 100C arranged longitudinally in the left and right direction on the top end of the left surface 106 and top end of the right surface 107, on which the control panel 140 is mounted by screw and the like.

The cabinet 100 has a left and rear end bending part 106D bent toward the rear end of the right surface 107 so that the left part of the back cover 110 may be connected on the rear end of the left surface 106 by a connecting member such as screw and the like.

The cabinet 100 has a right and rear end bending part 107D bent toward the rear end of the left surface 106 so that the right part of the back cover 110 may be connected on the rear end of the right surface 107 by a connecting member such as screw and the like.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the cabinet shown in FIG. 6 before the left and right surfaces are bent from the front surface.

When the cabinet 100 is manufactured, a center part 101′ and left and right parts 106′, 108′ are generally formed in one plate body form as shown in FIG. 7 and then the left and right parts 106′ 108′ are bent from the center part 101′, thus forming the left and right surfaces 106, 108 and front surface 101 perpendicular to the left and right surfaces 106, 108.

On the other hand, the back cover 110, which is a structure of covering the overall open rear surface of the cabinet 100, is generally formed in a rectangular plate body form, as shown in FIG. 6.

The back cover 110 is mounted in the front and rear direction at the rear side of the cabinet 100 for the motor 40 and the like, and covers the open rear surface of the cabinet 100; its left part is connected and mounted by screw and the like to the left and rear end bending part 106D bendingly formed on the rear end of the left surface 106 in the cabinet 100, and its right part is connected and mounted by screw and the like to the right and rear end bending part 107D bendingly formed on the rear end of the right surface 107 in the cabinet 100.

The back cover 110 is formed with at least one penetration hole 111, 112, 113, 114, through which parts of the drum type washing machine are penetrated.

The back cover 110 is formed with a water supply valve hole 111, through which the water supply valve 36 is penetrated.

The back cover 110 is formed with a power code hole 112, through which a power code (not shown) of supplying external power to the inside of the drum type washing machine is penetrated.

The back cover 110 is formed with a draining hose hole 113, through which the draining hose 45 is penetrated.

The back cover 110 is formed with a tranzi bolt hole 114, through which a tranzi bolt (not shown) of fastening the tub 20 to the back cover 110 so that the tub 20 is not crashed against the back cover 110 is penetrated.

The base 130 has a leg spaced from ground.

The base 130 comprises a base pan 132 in a plate body form configuring the bottom surface of the drum type washing machine, a left base bracket 134 installed on the left and top surface of the base pan 132 and connected to the left damper of supporting the left side of the tub 20, and a right base bracket 136 installed on the right and top surface of the base pan 132 and connected to the right damper of supporting the right side of the tub 20.

The casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention configured as above has effects as follows.

In the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention configured as above, the front surface, on which the entrance hole of laundry is formed, and left and right surfaces are integrally formed, and therefore, there exists no gap between the left and right surfaces and front surface, this making it possible to eliminate beauty spoiling and deterioration of stability and cleanliness which can occur if there exists any gap.

In addition, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention, the cabinet and back cover mounted at the rear end of the cabinet replace the cabinet, cabinet cover, and back cover of the casing of the laundry handling device according to the prior art, and therefore the number of parts is decreased, this making it possible to minimize the number of connecting members and simplifying assembling process.

In addition, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention, the front surface in the cabinet is formed lower in height than the left and right surfaces, and therefore, the control panel mounting part is provided on the top side of the cabinet, this allowing the control panel to be installed not higher than the left and right surfaces.

In addition, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention, the back cover is mounted to completely cover the rear surface of the cabinet, and therefore, if the back cover is removed during maintenance work of the inside of the drum type washing machine, the rear surface of the drum type washing machine is completely open, this making it possible to facilitate customer service for motor and the like.

In addition, in the casing of the laundry handling device according to the present invention, the back cover is integrally formed with a plurality of holes through which parts such as the water supply valve, draining hose, power code and tranzi bolt are penetrated, this making it possible to perform a customer service for the water supply and the like by removing only the back cover without removing the top plate during the customer service. 

1. A casing of a laundry handling device comprising: a cabinet having a front surface and a left and right surfaces formed integrally with one another, the front surface 101 formed with an entrance hole of laundry; and a back cover mounted on a rear end of the left and right surfaces of the cabinet.
 2. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the cabinet has a door pivotally installed on the front surface to open and close the entrance hole of laundry.
 3. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the cabinet has a control panel mounting part for mounting a control panel of controlling operation of the laundry handling device on a top side of the front surface.
 4. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 3, wherein the cabinet is formed so that a height of the front surface is lower than a height of the left and right surfaces.
 5. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the cabinet has a holder mounting hole of mounting a pump holder on a lower side of the front surface.
 6. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the back cover has a structure to cover the overall rear surface of the cabinet.
 7. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the back cover is formed with at least one hole through which parts of the laundry handling device are penetrated.
 8. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 7, wherein the back cover is formed with a water supply valve hole through which a water supply valve is penetrated.
 9. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 7, wherein the back cover is formed with a power code hole through which a power code is penetrated.
 10. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 7, wherein the back cover is formed with a draining hose hole through which a draining hose is penetrated.
 11. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 7, wherein the back cover is formed with a tranzi bolt hole through which a tranzi bolt is penetrated.
 12. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the back cover is mounted in a front and rear direction at a rear side of the cabinet.
 13. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, further comprising: a base on which the cabinet and back cover are mounted.
 14. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 13, wherein the base comprises, a base pan 132, a left base bracket installed on a left and top surface of the base pan and connected to a left damper supporting a left side of the tub, and a right base bracket installed on a right and top surface of the base pan and connected to a right damper supporting a right side of the tub.
 15. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, further comprising: a top plate mounted on a top side of the cabinet and back cover.
 16. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 1, wherein the laundry handling device is a drum type washing machine.
 17. A casing of a laundry handling device comprising: a base; a cabinet mounted on a top side of the base, having a front surface and a left and right surfaces formed integrally with one another, the front surface formed with an entrance hole of laundry; a back cover mounted on a rear end of the left and right surfaces of the cabinet and the base to cover the overall rear surface of the cabinet; and a top plate mounted on a top side of the cabinet and back cover.
 18. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 17, wherein the cabinet is formed so that a height of the front surface is lower than a height of the left and right surfaces to mount a control panel of controlling operation of the laundry handling device on a top side of the front surface.
 19. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 17, wherein the back cover is formed with at least one hole through which parts of the laundry handling device are penetrated.
 20. The casing of the laundry handling device of claim 17, wherein the laundry handling device is a drum type washing machine. 